A Place to Call Home
by Kashino Chiyuki-chan
Summary: Alec Lightwood, orphaned at the age of 7, has spent his whole life protecting his little sister. Izzy is adopted and Alec is sent to a orphanage, to later be adopted by a rich man. The twist? This man is an abusive parent, and anytime he's not ignoring Alec, he's beating him. Can Magnus Bane, an up and coming social worker, save Alec before it's too late?


I was only seven when my parents had died, and since then I had been protecting my younger sister, all these years I had been holding her close. Keeping her safe, innocent, I loved her like I loved no one else. But all the love in the world couldn't change what would happen next.

I laid in the room I shared with my roommate Jace, he was a tall blonde boy who was about my age. He always wore clothes that were in style despite being a foster child just like Izzy and I. It was obvious who the Johnson's liked more. The only comfort I found in this home was the fact that I knew my sister was right across the hall from me, hopefully asleep by now. Looking back over at the clock, I noticed that it was getting quite late already. It was close to one in the morning and I had yet to fall asleep.

This was the ninth foster home Izzy and I had been sent to in the past three years, and we had only been with this family for about a month. I was the kind of boy who was polite and kind, and who never spoke out of turn, keeping my mouth shut unless I was talking to Izzy or being asked a question.

"Alec..." I heard the door open and saw a head of long black hair peak in. It didn't even take me a second before I was up and holding my little sister. She had tears running down her cheeks. "Alec, why do mommy and daddy hate us? Why did they hate us so much that they died?"

I knew exactly where Izzy had received this idea from. No mater how much I tried to protect her, the rumors still managed to reach her little ears, warping her sense of the truth.

"Izzy, it's not like that." I gently explained to her, brushing her hair out of her dark eyes. "Mommy and daddy had somewhere they needed to be. They didn't want to leave us, they loved us, but someone forced them, and so they had to go." This was the story I told my little sister every time she asked me. She was so young, I didn't need to tell her the truth yet.

"Alec, will you sleep with me, I'm scared." I hesitated, the last time I slept in Izzy's room, our foster parents had yelled at us, and I was scared that the Johnson's would do the same, that they would get so upset that they would abandon us like everyone else had. "Alec, I don't want them to take you, I need you near me, I won't let them have you." All hesitation I had a moment ago had disappeared and had been replaced my an overwhelming need to protect my sister.

I leaned down, touching my lips to Izzy's forehead and kissing it.

"I love you, Iz. I'll stay with you tonight, so don't worry. Everything will turn out just fine for us."

I walked with Izzy to her room, tucking her into her little bed, and sitting in the chair next to it. It didn't take long before Isabelle had fallen back into a peaceful sleep, gripping tightly to my hand all the while. I closed my eyes, feeling my body relax next to my sister, and soon I was asleep as well.

"Alexander!" I heard a voice call, I was startled awake by the loud voice of Bill, our foster dad for now. Izzy shot up as well, looking scared.

"Don't worry Iz, I'll go and check what he needs, you can go back to sleep." I told my eight year old sister, standing and walking to the door.

"I'm right here, did you need something?" I asked, walking up behind Bill. He jumpped, slightly startled by my silent walk.

"Alec, I need to talk to you, will you join me in the living room?" I had heard that more times than I could count, and it was never a good sign. I nodded anyway, strutting behind him gracefully.

When I made it out to the living room, I saw poised on one of the couches, our social worker. She was a tall, lean woman with sleek brown hair, and coffee coloured eyes.

"Camile, why are you here?" I was sure I knew the answer, but I liked to make these situations as hard as I could, it made it more interesting for me, seeing as this was the tenth time I had been through it.

"Alexander, I have some bad news, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have made it clear to us that they can not take care of you as of this moment." To most children my age, I'm sure they wouldn't understand, but I had heard the words so many times that it was practically my motto. It broke my heart, seeing Camile look so upset. She had always had a strong face on for us every other time she had told us that we were going somewhere else to live. What made this time so different?

"Alec, as you know this is the tenth time in three years that this has happened, and this time I haven't been able to find a family willing to take you." I froze at the words. What did that mean, were Izzy and I going to have to go to a orphanage? "Alec, buddy, this isn't easy to say, but from this day on you will be living at The Institute downtown."

Wait, that couldn't be right, The Institute was only a boys orphanage, what about Izzy?

"No! I can't leave Izzy, she needs me...I need her." I felt tears form in my eyes, why did this always happen to us? Why were the separating us?

"Alec, buddy, you need to calm down." Camile said, placing a perfectly manicured hand on my shoulder, leaning down to look me in the eyes. "I am going to take care of Isabelle. I think I might have found the perfect home for her." I was shaking, and I couldn't figure out if it was because I was scared or because I was angry.

"No! Isabelle is mine, I need to protect her. I need to watch over her, and keep her safe-" I was cut off by the words that tumbled out of Camile's mouth next.

"Alexander, don't you want your sister to be happy?" I looked up at her, hurt evident in my eyes. "You are strong, but you are only ten years old, there is only so much you can do." I wanted to scream at her to shut up. To tell her that she didn't know anything, but the words wouldn't come. I let my mask fall along with the tears.

After all of this time, after all the time I had spent protecting my little sister, they were just going to take her away and give her to some family she didn't even know all alone.

A few weeks later I heard the news that Isabelle was living with a family called the Lewis' and that they had one other adopted son named Simon. It started out that Isabelle would write to me everyday, saying how much she missed me, how much she wished I was there. Eventually the letters became about how she was starting school, and she was making friends. They stopped coming everyday, and only came every few. Before I knew it, they had stopped almost completely.

My little sister no longer needed me. She was safe, and I was...alone.


End file.
